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Leff: Mets Fans, Fickle Fans |
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Written by Mark Leff
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Sunday, 20 April 2008 |
 I remember distinctly in 2007 when Mike Pelfrey began to get his first
regular starts for the Mets. We all remember his tremendous struggles,
quickly falling to 0-7. Needless to say, it was not encouraging for
Mets fans. But I remember being shocked by the reaction so many Mets fans had.
“That’s it for Pelfrey, I guess,” I heard them saying. Wait, what does
that mean? Are you saying you’ve flat out given up on Pelfrey? “Trade
him,” they said.
Really?
Now, I cannot say that Pelfrey’s first few starts made me think too highly of him. I naturally agreed that Pelfrey’s stock dropped after those first starts. But why would you say he’s all washed up? The kid has had a handful of major league starts and that is the body of work you are going to judge his talent on? It’s absurd to think that, because a player does not perform the moment he makes his first appearance in the bigs, he can never succeed. But that was the attitude so many Mets fans seemed to have.
And yet, that attitude seems all too common among Mets fans. They fall in love with the player on a hot streak and dismiss the player who is on a cold streak. Even in this short season of 2008, one can see it.
Exhibit A: Ruben Gotay. Gotay had a good season for the Mets in 2007, batting .295 with 4 home runs and some key clutch hits. Mets fans began to swoon, to the point that, when Gotay was released by the club shortly before the start of the 2008 season, the fans called it an outrage. But in spite of a decent season, Gotay is not a great player. A .259 career hitter, Gotay was released by the Royals before coming to the Mets. Yeah, the Royals, who would take a player if he had even the slightest talent. But they had no interest in Gotay. Not to mention the defense. Willie Randolph, who is himself a former second baseman, had little faith in Gotay’s defense. But the Mets fans couldn’t wait to see him perform. They called for Gotay to replace Luis Castillo, all because he did well for the Mets in 190 at-bats.
Which brings me to Exhibit B: Luis Castillo. Ok, he’s off to a rough start. And I agree that at his age, a 4-year contract was a mistake on the part of the Mets. But nonetheless, Mets fans have looked at his batting average after less than a month, which is hovering around .230, and determined that he won’t climb out of the hole. Now, wait a minute. This is the same Luis Castillo who has batted .293 for his career, including .301 in 2007. Where are we getting the idea that Castillo won’t hit better than he is now? Why have we made such a snap judgment of him? Maybe he’s not the ideal #2 hitter, but he’s far from a bust.
And finally, Exhibit C: Angel Pagan. Angel is white-hot to start the season, batting at a .339 clip with 11 runs batted in. His average got as high as .385. But recently, when Randolph said that Pagan would naturally cool off, Mets fans flipped. They excused Randolph of trashing Pagan and some of the fans even suggested that Pagan should be the every day outfielder even after Alou comes back. But Randolph was right: of course Pagan is going to cool off. Do Mets fans think he’s going to hit .385 for the season? Who is he, George Brett? Pagan is a career .267 hitter. He’s not going to be unstoppable all year. On the other hand, Alou has a history of success, being a tremendous contact hitter when healthy. He’s a .303 career hitter who hit .341 last year in limited at-bats for the Mets. Why are Mets fans so infatuated with Pagan? Why have they lost sight of the big picture?
I wish I could answer those questions. Maybe Mets fans have been waiting so long to catch lightning in a bottle, have been waiting for the one star that will put them over the edge and make them baseball’s best team for so long, that they see what they want to. But there are far too many examples of Mets fans snapping to judgment about a player. Heck, they booed Johan Santana in his first start at Shea. I can’t figure out why so many of them are so focused on the last few days that they cannot see the big picture.
DISCUSS IN OUR FORUMS
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Last Updated ( Sunday, 20 April 2008 )
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